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Friday, June 14, 2013

THE HALF-LIFE OF ENGLISH

Half-life
is a scientific term to describe the rate of decay of a radioactive material. For instance, the half-life of Carbon 14
(C14) is roughly 5730 years. The material
turns in to Nitrogen 14 (N14). Suppose you
have ten particles of C14, then in about 5730 years, you will have five
particles of C14 remaining alongside five particles of N14. Since C14 is present in organic life forms,
this is how scientist determine the age of old dead things.[1]

Missionaries
have been using English as a second language (ESL) as a means of missions
for many generations now. For some, it
is a way in which they enter into a country that is closed to the gospel. For others it is a way they can build
relationships with a community in the hopes of spreading the gospel. For the past five years, I have been a part
of this dynamic, first in Chiang Mai and now in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat for
short). I have seen the good it is
capable of but also its limitations.

Chiang
Mai, while not the most well known city by worldly standards, has really become
an international city of sorts.
According to Euromonitor, in 2012, Chiang Mai drew over 1.7 million
tourists.[2] That’s an average of over 32 thousand
tourists a week. Not a bad boost for the
economy. Not only do a lot of tourist come,
but many farang (the Thai word for foreigners) live in the city as well. With all of this in mind, it is no surprise
that English, as well as many other languages, is spoken all over the
city. To the Chiang Mai community, English is important to learn if you are going to have a successful
business.

The Centre in Chiang Mai has been around for about twenty years now. It has had its ups and downs, but God has
used this ministry to be effective for the gospel. Many students have come to saving faith in
Jesus through its ministry and some have even gone on to become pastors at
different churches within the city. English
as a means to bringing the gospel can be successful, and The Centre Chiang Mai
is proof of that.

Enter
into the discussion a city like Korat: not a lot of tourists coming to visit, not
too many farang living in the city.While English is stressed as an important need by the governmental and
educational authorities, it’s hard for the average Thai person living in Korat
to see it as such. The success of their
business doesn’t depend on how well they can communicate with foreigners.

When
I first moved to Korat and saw the university campuses and saw how many
students there were, I thought to myself, "Surely what we were doing in Chiang Mai
could be replicated here." For one, there
were no other informal English schools like The Centre in the city. Also, the more formalized private schools
were about four times as expensive as we were.
This should be no problem, right?
Well two years into it, and we have yet to see any real success. We can’t draw enough students to keep the
place open and the students we do get don’t stay long enough for us to make a
meaningful impact with the gospel.

So
what’s the point I’m trying to make here?
English as a means for evangelism can be done, but success is driven by
the society in which you are trying to reach.
To the society that sees English as a great need, it can work. To the
society that puts English near the bottom rung of their ladder of importance, you will
probably not find much success.

This
drives home a much more serious question. How long will ESL as a means for missions still be a viable
option?What is English’s
half-life?A little over a century ago,
French was supposed to be the language that sat in the driver’s seat.While French is still a major player in the
world, I don’t see students clamoring to fill the seats of FSL classes.Dominant world languages continue to change
as history moves forward.While English
is currently in the front seat of the car with steering wheel in hand, Mandarin
is sitting shotgun saying, “You’ve been driving for quite a while now.You look tired.Why don’t you pull over and I’ll take it the
rest of the way while you nap.”

China
is becoming the world dominant economic power.
If you have a MBA and can speak Mandarin, you should have no problem
landing a job in today’s market. But
more importantly, if you’re a native speaker in Mandarin, God may choose to use you for
future mission work.

With
English switching seats, missionaries from the West are going to have to find
alternative options when it comes to evangelistic strategies. What if closed countries no longer want
English teachers? What if our English
outreach programs are no longer enticing to the people we are trying to reach
out to?

Personally,
I’m feeling this pressure here in Korat.
In the next month or two, I’m going to have to decide where I fit in as
a missionary. I look at the work I’ve
done at The Centre over the past two years and the work I’ve done through the
church my family and I attend on the weekends and there’s no contest. The church has been much more fruitful. So I will most likely be making a move in the
direction of church planting.

What
is the half-life on English? The world
is too complicated to give any type of deadline. But I know that as technology advances more
and more, the quicker things fall out of fashion. Ten years ago I heard a missionary say that
there’s about a thirty-year window for ESL teachers. I think that window has shrunk and will
continue to do so. While English is currently
a useful tool for missionaries, we need to start preparing for the future. It is time for innovative ideas to spring
forth in missions.

You're right, one situation doesn't make a rule, and maybe I'm overreacting a bit. But I think the ESL wave is closer to shore than we imagine. I could be wrong. There's a lot of dynamics that play into it. A resurgence of the U.S. economy could change things. Some new, never thought of technology could arise that puts English back on top. But you should be safe either way right? If Mandarin becomes the norm, you shouldn't have any trouble. :)

Hey Cory,Ten years ago, I was in Phitsanulok and a new missionary joined our team to start an English teaching program like she had successful done in Bangkok. We planned for multiple classes at 4 different levels of ability... but struggled to have any more than a 1-3 students in any of the classes beyond beginner. The program was a hit in Bangkok but flopped in Phitsanulok. Sounds like you are also finding the same thing. Just because it plays in Chiang Mai, doesn't mean it will in Korat. Totally different animal.

I think that English teaching should, in most places and situations, play a minimal part in our church planting & outreach efforts in Thailand. For one thing, it is hardly reproducible by the Thai (although an afterschool homework club to help kids in other subject is reproducible). Love to talk to you sometime about your thoughts of moving into more direct church planting.

In the meantime, check out this blog (and especially the comment thread following the post on "Is Using English Teaching As Outreach Deceptive?"). We had a good discussion on this a little while ago.

It is definitely a different animal. In Chiang Mai, we always had plenty of students and though we hardly ever talked about the Bible or the gospel in class, we were able to develop friendships and saw a number of students come to a saving faith in Christ. The after school club approach is being done by the church we attend. That has been really fruitful. In fact, we launched a new church because of it three weeks ago and have 50 plus in attendance every week. We should definitely chat sometime. Don't know when I'll be in Bangkok next. I'll give you a call when I do though.

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